Flexible pipe joint



March 3, 1931. w. c. WHITE 1,795,155

FLEXIBLE PIPE JOINT Filed July 14, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l MGR Kite w. c. WHI TE 1,795,155

FLEXIBLE PIPE JOINT Filed July 1 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 3, 1931.

allnnl zivar I I!!! M M gwum H01 WC. W i te {fi 7 vi w, SHUT/WW Patented Mar. 3; 1931 T ES UNITED. STA

PATENT OFFICE WALTER C. WHITE, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL COUPLER-8.00., OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A COMMON-LAW TRUST FLEXIBLE Application filed July 14,

This invention relates to an improved flexible pipe joint and seeks, among other objects, to provide a ball and socket joint which, with minimum friction, between the relatively movable members of the joint, will be sealed against leakage ofeither liquids or fluids.

The invention seeks, as a further object, to provide a joint having means externally of the oint socket which may be adjusted for expanding the gasket of the joint against the wall of the socket for taking up wear on the gasket and closing any abrasions in the pe-. ripheral surface thereof toovercome possible leakage. l l l Another object is to provide a joint having the stem thereof movable axially relative to the ballso that the stem may be shifted for expanding the gasket. j A further object 18130 provide a joint embodying a fluid-actuated follower for feeding the gasket to the wall of the socket, and

wherein means will be provided internally of the joint and adjustable to coactgwith the follower for initiallyoompressing the gasket. 5

Still another object is to provide a joint wherein the gasket will be disposed at one side of the equatorial plane of the ball for reducing the frictional drag of the gasket against the socket wall, wherebythe joint may be easily flexed. 1

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide a joint capable of prolonged leak-proof service'and which will be especially applicable for use in pipe lines or conduits as employed in the loading, unload.-

ng or transferring of gasoline.

Further objects of the invention, not above specifically mentioned, will appear as the dc scription proceeds. a In the accompanying drawings:

fFigure l is a perspective view showing the parts of my improved pipe joint disassembled but in proper relative position.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken medially through the oint. 1

Figure 3 is afragmentary vertical section- 31. View showing a slight modification ofthe a flat face to confront the flat face of the 5 invention. i

PIPE JOINT 1925. 1 Serial No. 43,482.

Figure 4t is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figures 5, 6, 7 8 and 9 are vertical sectional views showing additional modified structures.

FigurelO is a plan view of the follower shown inFigure 9.

As previously intimated, the joint is of the ball and socket type. The ball is of sectional construction and includes a hollow body section '10 and a compleniental cap section 11 conforming at its periphery to the spherical contour of the body section. At its outer end,the body section is formed with a nipple 12 while at its inner end said section is provided with an end wall 13 having a flat outer face lying at a right angle to the axis of the nipple, and surrounding the flat face of said wall is a beveled face 14 at the periphery of the section.

tion 10 and through the end wall 13 thereof as well as through the section 11 is a tubular stem 15 provided at its outer end with an enlarged internally threaded pipe nipple 16 forming an external annular shoulder 17 adjacent the outer end of the stem, and seated in said nipple is an appropriate gasket 18. Surrounding the stem-receiving opening in the section 11 isan annular channel 19 in which is seated an appropriate gasket 20, and screwed upon the inner end of the stem to form an abutment for said gasket is a nut 21 connecting the sections 10 and 11 of the ballwith the stem, the nut being adjusted upon the stem until the thread of the nut leaves the inner end of the thread of the stem and plows into the metal of the stem for locking the nut against retrograde movement, Thus, as will beseen, said sections may shift-independently of each other upon the stem while thestem may also shift axially relative to said sections, and fixed inthe wall of said stem, adjacent the shoulder 1?, is a key 22 which is slidably received in a slot in the nipple 12 forlocking the stem against rotation independently of the section 10.

The section 11 of the ball is provided with wall 13 of the section 10 in parallel relation,

and surrounding the flat face of the section 11 at the periphery thereof is a beveled face 28 inclining away from the beveled face 14 "of the section 10. Inter-posed between said 7 fronting flat faces of the sections while, at

sections is'a packing gasket 24; snugly surrounding the stem 15. The gasket is provided with flat faces to seat flat against the conits periphery, the gasket is formed with a thickened encircling substantially. wedgeshaped head 25 having oppositely beveled side faces 26 seating flat against the beveled ball, as shall later beexplained.

' Coacting with the ball is a sockettherefor.

This socket includes .a socket cup 28, and

screwed on the cup is'a socket nut 29 having abase flange 30 seating flat against an encircling'fiangei-ll on the cup.- These flanges are provided with matingears 32, and ex-' tending through said ears is .a key 33 locking the cup and nut together. Formed on the cup in alinement with the stem 15 is an externally threaded pipe nipple '34 of. an internal diameter corresponding to the internal diameter of said stem.

Initially, the gasket 24 is'of an over-size major diameter so that wlien"the socket is assembled about the ball, the gasket is compressed radially. The density of the gasket is thus increased while the gasket is thus'also caused to expand radially against the wall oi the socket to provide a. tightjoint between theball and socket. As will be-perceived, the section 11 of theball is independently movable longitudinally of the stem '15 to'provide a follower for the gasket; Similarly, the section of the ball is independently movable longitudinally of the stem to also provide a follower forthegasket and, in assembling the joint, the nut 21 is initially adjusted so that the gasket is compressed somewhat be tw'eensaid sections. Adjustment of th'etnut will, as will be observed,- cause the sections lO -and 11 of the ballto be'ishi'fted toward I each other for clamping the gasket therebctween so that the-beveled'faces 14' and 23 of said sections'will coact with-the beveled faces 26. of the head 25 of thefgasket-ffor com'.- pressing the bead-therebetweenand feeding the bead against theqwallof the socket. The bead is thus caused toseat fiat throughout its peripheral area against the wall of the socket to provide sealedjconn'ection between :the ball and socket Furthermore, in any in; stance where 'the joint is'used in connect-ion with a conduit conducting a fluid under pressure, the fluid pressure will act against the section 11 of the ball for advancing said section against the gasket and'thus constantly compressing the gasket into engagement with a.

the socket wall. However, when the gasket becomes worn, so that the gasket inefiiciently contacts the wall of the socket, the nut 27 is adjusted in a counter-clo'clnvise' direction, which adjustment of said nut will cause the nut to coact with the shoulder 17 of the stem 'for drawing thestem 1 5 outwardly to advance the section 1.1 of the ball toward the section 10, while the section 10 will be shifted inwardly and thus advanced towardthe section. 11. The compression of the gasket will be increased accordingly with the result-that the head of'the gasket will, in turn, be tightly pressed against the wall ef the socket to perfect a sealed jointbetween the ball and socket,'I thus provide a meansexternally of V tlicjoint whereby the gasket maybe adjustably fed to the wall of the socketand wear on t-he'gasket taken up. v v

By forming the gasket with the peripheral wedge-shaped head 25, annular lips are provided at opposite sides'of the gasket to lie in the grooves defined between the beveled faces 14 and 23 of the sections of the ball and the socket,- Furthermore, the wedge-shaped bead provides a correspondingly increased peripheral gasket area to. contact the wall of the socket and when the ball and socket are rocked-with respect to each other,.'the fric- 7 tional drag of the peripheral surface of said bezidfagainst the socket wall will tend'to crowd said lips into said grooves and thus accentuate the sealed engagement between the gasket and the socket wall. Also, the",frictional drag of the bead against the socket 'wall will tend to cause a local compression of:

the bead. The density ofthe head will thus be increasedaccordingly so that the bead will more firmly engage the socket wall. As

shown in Figure 2, the wall 1'3of the ball section 10 lies in spaced relation at one side of theequatorial plane of the ball; The gas list 241 is correspondingly spaced away from said plane and 1n thus locating the gasket. the circumference thereof is proportionately reduced; Accordingly the resistance offered by the gasket tothe relative movement :of the socket and ball, due to the frictional engagement of the gasket with the wall of the socket is, in turn, proportionately reduced, with theresult that the ball and socket may be readily rocked with respect to each other'land the joint easily flexed. -Th-is effect is further enhanced by the fact that in thus locating the gasket, the leverage'of the'ball on the gasket, when the ball is rocked',-is proportionately increased. t

In Figures: 3 and 4 of the drawings,

I have illustrated'a slight modification of the inven- 7 tion, wherein the nut 27 and the shoulder 17 of the nipple 16 of the stem 15 are provided at spaced points with radial grooves 28 adapted to be brought into register to receive a key 29 which, when the nut is adjusted against said shoulder of the stem, will coact between the nut and shoulder for locking the nut in adjusted position.

In Figure 5, I have illustrated a further modification wherein the end wall 13 of the body section of the ball is not only provided at its outer periphery with the beveled face 14, as in the preferred construction, but is also formed at its inner periphery with an inclined'flange 3O defining a beveled face 31, and rising from the latter beveled face is a cylindrical face 32 concentric to the stem 15. Freely mounted on the stem is the cap section 33 of the ball which is retained by a nut 341-, as in the preferred construction. However, as will be observed, the ball section 33 is provided with a flat inner face, and confined between said section and the body section of the ball is a gasket 35. This gasket is preferably of graphite covered cork and is provided at its outer periphery with a bead 36, while at its inner periphery, said gasket is provided at one side thereof with a flange or bead 37 fitting in the socket formed by the faces 31 and 32. The opposite side of the gasket is flat to seat the flat inner face of the ball section 33. Thus, when the follower is advanced by fluid pressure or when the nut 27 is adjusted for compressing the gasket, the flange 37 of the gasket will jam in the socket formed by the faces 31 and 32 of the wall 13 to bind between said faces and the stem 15. At its outer periphery, the gasket is provided atone side thereof with a single beveled face 38 to seat flat against the beveled face 14 of the end wall 13 and, as will be observed, the gasket is preferably located at the equatorial plane of the ball.

In Figure 6, I have illustrated another modification which is similar to the structure shown in Figure 5, with the exception that.

the cylindrical face 32 on the end wall 13 of the ball section 10 is omitted and the gasket 39 is provided at its inner periphery with a lip or head l0 having a beveled face to coact with the beveledface of a flange 41 at the inner circumference of said wall.

In Figure 7, I have illustrated a further modification which is similar to the structure shown in Figure 6 with the exception that the gasket 42 is formed at its inner and outer peripheries with substantially wedge-shaped beads 43 and 44 each having oppositely beveled faces to seat flat against similar beveled faces on the sections of the ball.

In Figure 8, I have illustrated still another I modification which is identical with the structure shown in Figure 6, with the exception that the retaining nut 27 on the stem is omitted and the cap section 45 of the ball is screwed on the inner end of the stem. However, said cap section is, nevertheless, adapted to functionas i-follower, for thegasket lfi since, under fluid pressure against the cap section, said steniwill shift axially through the ball section 10 while the nut 27 may be adjusted for advancing the ball sections and compressing the gasket tlie'rebetween.

" In Figures 9 and'lO of the drawings, I have illustrated a further modification which identical with the preferred construction with the enception that thecap section 47 of the ball is provided at one side thereof with a peripheral annular fluid channel 48. The

joint of this modified structure is particularly adaptedfor use in connect on with a conduit condueting fluid under. pressure. Should any of the fluid flnd its way between the cap section 47 of the balland the gasket 49, the fluid will enter the channel l8, when the fluid pressure will serve to force the outer peripheral bead of the gasket against the socket wall to dependent of one of said followersjand a 'nut adjustable upon said follower to coact with the stem foradvancing theifollowers and feeding the packing to fcoact between the members.

2. A flexible pipe joint comprising a socket, a ball fitting in said socket, a follower integral with the ball, a fluid conducting stem sliding axially through said follower, a second follower rotatably receiving said stem, a packing gasket between said followers and engaging said socket, an abutment on said stem bearing against the second named follower, and an adjusting nut disposed exteriorly of the ball and engaging said stem, said nut coacting with said abut ment to compress said gasket between said followers. 7

3. A flexible pipe oint comprising a socket, a ball fitting in said socket, a follower integral with the ball, a fluid conducting stem sliding axially through said follower. a second follower rotatably receiving said stem,

both of said followers'having beveled edges,

a packing gasket between said followers having a thickened peripheral portion fitting snugly between the beveled edges of said followers and engaging the inner wall of the socket, an abutment on said stein bearing against the second named follower, and an adjusting nut disposed exteriorly of the iii ball andengagin said ste n,'jsaid nutcoacting with said a utment to compress said gasket between said followers. 7 4:. A flexible pipe jointopmprising a socket, a ball fitting in said socket, a follower integral with the ball, a fluid. conducting stem sliding axially through said follower, a second followerirotatably receiving said stem, and being provided adjacent the edge with an annular cl lallnel to receive fluid under pressure, said channelconfronting the first named follower, a packing gasket between said followers andengaging saidsocket and adapted to be subjected tothe fluid under '1 pressure in said ghannehan abutment on a said stem bearing againstsaid channeled follower, and an adju t g .11 di po ed iio 'ly of the hall and eng ging Said stem, said nut coaotingwith said abutment to com- 0 presssaid gasket between said followers,

' 5. A flexible pipe joint comprising a sooket, a ball fitting in said socket, theball hav- I ing a transverse rigid wall forming a follower, a nipple 011 said ball, a fluid conducting 25 stem slidably fitted in said nipple and sliding axially through said follower, an annular shoulder onthe. outer end of said stem,

7 7 an adjusting nutthreaded .on the nipple and 4 engagingsaid shoulder for moving sa d stem 30 longitudinally through said b ll, a f llower rotatably. receiving said ste n, a packing gask eposed e w e said l w rs a d bearing against said socket, an abutment on the inner end of saidste n bearing against 5 the last-name ollower and co st ng wi h said'adjusting nutfor com-pressing said gasket between said followers. I Q t s im ny wher eii fl x myi'gn ure- 

